Until The End
by Hanny Gates
Summary: Her father blamed her for her mother's death, and gave her to his brother when she was only a day old...... She is sixteen months younger than her best friend Jimmy, and she will always be there for him... An Avenged Sevenfold Fanfic... :D
1. Prologue : I Don't Want Her

Monday, July 5, 1982

"Here! Take her! She's yours now!" Sam Harris shouted, handing his one day old daughter to his older brother, Joe who was sitting with his son, Jared in the waiting room.

But she's your daughter!" Joe said, standing up, the baby now in his arms.

"She's not my fucking daughter!" Sam yelled. His eyes were flooded with tears. "She's a fucking murderer! I don't want her!"

"What are you talking about?" Joe handed the baby to his son, who is only ten years old. His other two sons, Joel who is six and Jake who is two, are at their next door neighbor's house.

"She is the reason that the love of my life is dead right now! They couldn't even get her to stay alive long enough for them to find out what was wrong! My wife didn't even have a fucking chance and it's all that baby's fault!" Sam pointed at the baby in Jared's arms.

"It's not her fault." Joe whispered, glaring at his brother. "If you really want me to take her, I will."

"Good. Here's the papers. Sign here." He pointed to a spot on what looked like custody papers, and Joe signed it.

"Good luck with the fucking anti-christ." Sam said. He took the papers and walked away without another word. Joe looked at the birth certificate that he held in his hand.

"Kaylyn Marie Harris. I like it. Says she was born at 11:35 yesterday morning." Joe said to his son.

"So does this mean that I have a sister now?" Jared asked, still looking down at Kaylyn, who was peacefully sleeping in his arms.

"Kinda. You are still her cousin. And I'm her uncle. She'll just be living under the same roof." Joe went over and signed some papers at the front desk and then the three of them left.

They pulled into their dive way and went over to the Sullivan residence, where Joel and Jake were, and knocked on the door.

"Oh hello! And who is this?" Ms. Sullivan answered the door, sixteen and a half month old Jimmy in her arms.

"This is the newest addition to the Harris family. Kaylyn." Jared told her, "But she's just my cousin, but she's gonna be living under the same roof as us." He repeated what his father told him back at the hospital.

"Oh really now. She is certainly adorable. Come on in. The boys are just finishing up a movie."

"Well I have to get Kaylyn situated, and the crib set up, so why don't you just send the two over when the movie is done." Joe suggested.

"Sure. That works." Ms. Sullivan said to him.

"Thanks again Ms. Sullivan."

"No problem. Maybe when Kaylyn is a little bit older, we can set up a play date with her and Jimmy."

"Yeah. That's a good idea." Joe said. They walked back over to their house and went inside.

"Here son, can you hold her so I can get the crib out of the basement?" Joe asked his son.

"Yeah!" Jared took Kaylyn from his father and sat on the couch.

Fifteen minutes later Joe came down the stairs and took Kaylyn upstairs to his room, where he had set up the crib.

"Won't she get her own room?" Jared asked.

"She will, but for now she'll sleep in here with me." Joe set Kaylyn down in her new crib and said "Welcome to the world, Kaylyn Marie."


	2. Ch 1 : You're The Best Friend EVER

Thursday, July 4, 1985

"Jimmy!" Kaylyn yelled, running into his bedroom.

"Lynni! Happy Birthday!"

"Thank you, Jims!" Kaylyn said using the nickname she gave him when she was two, and hugged her best friend.

She had known Jimmy her whole life and she loved him to death. Not love as in LOVE but more of a brotherly/sisterly kind of love.

"Guess what Uncle Joey gots me!" She squealed excitedly.

"What? What'd he get you?" Jimmy seemed to be just as excited as she was.

"He gots me my first cds!" She told him, pulling Metallica's _Ride The Lightning _andPantera's _I Am The_ _Night _from her black tote bag that she takes everywhere with her.

"Oh! Sweet!" Jimmy said, taking a look at the two cd cases.

"Yeah! Jared tolds me that they are really good!" Kaylyn told him excitedly. "Wanna come over and listen to them with me's?"

"Yeah! Let's go!"

So Jimmy and Kaylyn ran over to her house and up to her room.

Luckily, her cousins got her a cd player in which she can listen to her music. She put in her new Metallica cd and Fight Fire With Fire came on.

"You still coming to the zoo with me tomorrow?" Jimmy asked her as they listened.

"Of course! I wouldn't miss it for anything!" She told him, jumping up and down.

He smiled and then wrapped his arms around her, and joined her in jumping up and down, both of them squealing excitedly.

Friday, July 5, 1985

"Uncle Joey!" Kaylyn yelled as she ran into her uncle's room. She jumped up onto his bed and sat down next to him. "Can you put my hair into a pony tail?"

"Okey dokey Kay. Just let me get up and get dressed. How about you go change and brush your teeth and then I'll come and put your hair up and get your shoes on."

"Okay! Don't take too long!" She ran back out, but then remembered something she forgot to ask, so she ran back in. "Can I have some pancakes?"

"Yes. I'll make them in a sec."

"Yay!" Kaylyn ran back out and into her room. She grabbed a pair of black denim jeans and a purple t-shirt. She put them on, went to the bathroom and brushed her teeth, then went to search for a pair of shoes.

She gets to her closet and looks down at all of her shoes.

She has three pairs of converse, one gray, one black, and one white. She has no clue as to which pair she should wear.

"Jake!" She ran into the room next to hers, looking for her cousin who is only two years older than her.

"What?" Jake said groggily. He sat up and rubbed the sleep out of his eyes.

"Which shoes should I wear?"

"I don't care. Go ask someone who cares." He told her, putting the covers over his head.

"Fine. You are such a butt!" She walked into one of the other bedrooms, which is inhabited by Joel, her cousin that is six years older than she is.

"Hey Joel...?" She shook his shoulder, and he rolled over and opened his eyes.

"What is it, Kaylyn?" He asked sleepily.

"Which pair of shoes should I wear to the zoo with Jimmy today? Black, gray, or white?"

"Black. Now let me sleep."

"Okay! Thank you Joel!"

She ran back into her room, grabbed her black pair of converse and then ran downstairs to where her uncle was making her pancakes in the kitchen.

"Mr. Uncley Man, can you put my shoes on now?" Kaylyn asked, sitting down at the kitchen table.

"Sure." He walked over to her and put her shoes on. "Go to the bathroom. I'll be there in a minute to put your hair up."

"Okey Dokeys!" She ran to the bathroom, and got up onto the counter. She then just sat there waiting for her uncle.

She has never been to the zoo before, and she was happy that she was gonna have the experience with Jimmy. There was no one else she would rather share this experience with.

She wants Jimmy to be the one she does everything with.

He walked in about 30 seconds later and brushed Kaylyn's long brown curls back into a pony tail.

"I got your pancakes on the table. Go eat and then you can go over to Jimmy's." Joe told her.

She nodded and ran towards the food, sitting down and eating as fast as she could at the age of four.

"Yummy!" She said, finally taking the last bite. "Bye!" She gave her uncle a quick hug, grabbed her tote and then bolted out the door towards Jimmy's house.

She got to the door and started to excessively ring the doorbell. She was so excited that she couldn't stand still. She was almost literally hopping up and down, but she had enough will power to control herself.

The door swung open and there stood her best friend.

She threw herself at him, knocking him to the floor.

"Jimmy! Jimmy! Jimmy! Jimmy!"

"Ow… Hi Kaylyn!" She got off of him and he stood up, pulling her with him.

"I'm sorry Jimmy! I didn't mean to hurts you!" She said, wrapping her arms around him.

"That's okay!" He told her, giving her a hug. "Mom! Kaylyn's here! Can we go now?"

Barbara Sullivan walked into the room, her keys and purse in hand.

"Yes, we may go now."

They got into the car and drove the fifteen miles to the Santa Ana Zoo.

Jimmy's mom led them into the zoo and they made their way around, looking at all the different types of animals that were on display.

By lunchtime they had seen over half of the park. Barbara had packed them all a sandwich and they sat at one of the picnic tables that are over near the restrooms.

"Thank you so much Jimmy!" Kaylyn gave Jimmy another hug. He has probably had around a hundred hugs just from her today.

"Yep... No problems... I wanted my first trip to the zoo to be with yous." He told her, "And I knew that you have never been before."

"And now you guys can share this experience with each other." Barbara added, taking a bite of her sandwich.

"I'm glad that I get to share this with you Jims." And Kaylyn gave him yet another hug.

"Me's too!"

"I loves you Jims! You're the best friend EVER!"


	3. Ch 2 : Sometimes Fun Comes With A Price

Friday, July 10, 1998

"Yo, Jims! Whatcha doin tomorrow?" Kaylyn was on the phone with Jimmy, trying not to go insane from boredom. It was late and she didn't want another day like today to happen. She needed to do something, so she called her best friend.

"Uhhhhh… I'm not sure. I think a couple of friends are coming over tomorrow."

"Oh. Okay." She sighed. She was in such a great mood, but now that mood was crushed.

She mentally scolded herself for not trying to go out and find some other friends. The only friends she had were Jimmy, and then her cousin Jake. He's the only one who still lives at home, but he's on vacation in Europe with some of his friends. Joel and Jared don't live at home, but they are currently in town for a visit.

Kaylyn has never really gotten along with the girls at her school. They were all preppy and arrogant. She couldn't stand them, and she couldn't stand that school any longer. They made her wear a UNIFORM! She hated being told what to wear. Once when she was little she tried out for a play. She got the role and then when they told her what costume she was going to wear, she went ballistic.

Now she was stuck wearing the same plaid skirt and white dress shirt every day.

And YES, she goes to one of those strict all girl schools. They aren't as great as some people think. Well it wasn't for her anyways. It creeped her out how everyone dressed the same, walked the same, talked the same. They all did everything the same. You would have thought that it was a school full of clones, but with slightly different features.

She didn't fit in there, AT ALL, and she doesn't think she ever will.

"You can hang out with us." He told her.

"I don't think they'll like me. I'm a little weird." She said nervously.

"Kaylyn, remember who you're talking to." Jimmy reminded her.

This made her chuckle and her mood boosted a bit. "That's right, you're completely bonkers."

"Ha ha. Very funny." He said, laughing. "So what should we do tomorrow?"

"Well I've never been to Disneyland, and I…"

"You have never been to Disneyland? Are you crazy?" He cut me off, and I could hear the shock in his voice.

"I thought we already covered this?" She laughed. "You're the one that's bonkers."

"We have to go!" He exclaimed excitedly. "We'll leave early enough so we can get there in time for the park to open and then we'll stay until it closes! Oh then we'll get a hotel room so we don't have to drive back at midnight!"

"Okay." And then she hesitantly asked, "Are you sure your friends won't mind me, or the fact that we are going to Disneyland?"

"Dude, Lynni, relax. They'll love you. And I know they won't mind going to Disneyland." Her friend reassured her. "I better call the guys and tell them."

"Yeah. That sounds like a good idea." She said in agreement.

"So I'll see ya tomorrow. Be at my house by 6:30 tomorrow morning." She could hear Jimmy's mother, Barbara in the background telling him to get off the phone.

"Yeah. I'll see ya then Jims." She said and then hit the end button.

She then put the phone down and got in the shower.

She wasn't sure if Jimmy was right. What if he was wrong and his friends didn't like her. She's not used to being around other people. And she's gonna have to socialize, which she doesn't do much, so she's not very good at it. Well if they're friends with Jimmy then they most likely have stuff in common with him, which is good because she and Jimmy have pretty much EVERYTHING in common. They grew up together, and he is the one who she has always looked up to, so her interests have pretty much formed from his interests.

She decided not to dwell on the subject too long. She feared that she would get too nervous, completely tweak, and then back out on her best friend. She couldn't do that to Jimmy and she knew it. He was way too excited, and on top of that she would never be able to drop out on her friend. He would force her out of this house no matter what it took. She wouldn't be surprised if he called her bright and early to make sure that she was awake and at his house on time.

She got out of the shower, changed into a pair of sleep pants and a t-shirt, and then went to bed, hoping that the next day would turn out better than the way she's been fearing.

Saturday, July 11, 1998

Of course, just as Kaylyn had predicted, Jimmy called her at five thirty in the morning.

"Just making sure you're up." He told her once she answered.

"Yes, Jimmy. I am up. And you are lucky I was, or else I would have come over there and kicked you all the way to Bikini Bottom." She told him, a grin tugging at her lips.

She heard laughter and then an unfamiliar voice through the speaker.

"Hey Zack! You're here!"

"Who's Zack?" She had never heard Jimmy speak of a Zack before. She's heard him say the name Matt a couple of times and maybe a Brian once, but never a Zack.

"Oh he's just one of the guys." He told her. "Now go get ready woman!"

The line disconnected and she looked out her bedroom window and saw Jimmy laughing in his bedroom.

She shook her head and went to her closet and grabbed her black messenger bag, putting some clothes and her wallet in it.

She then grabbed the phone and dialed Jimmy's number again.

"Yo! Woman! You ready already?" She heard someone laugh in the background, assuming that it was the Zack kid she answered him.

"Nope. I was just gonna ask you if we could take my truck." She said, grabbing a pair of denim shorts, and a loose, but not too loose fitting Pantara shirt.

"Yeah sure. Your truck would probably actually make it there." She laughed and told him she'd be over there in about ten minutes. She went into the bathroom and put on her clothes and a little bit of makeup, putting it in her bag when she was done. She then brushed the knots out of her chocolate curls, brushed her teeth, and put deodorant on, putting all of that into her bag.

When she was done with all of this, she grabbed her keys and headed downstairs, where her uncle sat on the couch, sipping on a cup of coffee.

"Kaylyn, what are you doing up so early?" He asked, turning on the news.

"I'm going to go hang out with Jimmy and a couple of his friends. We'll probably be back later tomorrow." She told him, and then remembered that she forgot to even ask permission to go. "That's okay, right?"

"Of course. What are you guys gonna do?" He asked curiously.

"We're going to Disney Land." She told him.

He gave her a questioning look, debating whether or not to believe this, but then nodded.

"Okay. Have fun. Here's some cash." He pulled out his wallet and handed her seven twenty dollar bills and a ten.

"Thanks Uncle Joe." She took the bills and put them in her wallet. She smiled, giving him a hug before heading over to Jimmy's.

Barbara answered the door, and told her Jimmy is in his room.

As soon as she opened his bedroom door, she was tackled down to the floor by a… Well, Jimmy.

"Ow! Jims! What was that for?" Kaylyn yelled as she got crushed by her best friend. Literally.

"This time, it was me who made you say ow!" Jimmy said, pointing at her.

"Dude, Jimmy. I was four." Kaylyn reminded him. "I didn't mean to hurt you. Remember, I apologized right after I tackled you."

"You guys tackle each other?" She looked over to the boy who had spoken. He had grin plastered on his face. She grabbed one of her black flip-flops and threw it, hitting him strait on the forehead.

"Kaylyn Harris. Nice to meet you….?" She held her hand out to him, and he shook it.

"Zacky Baker." He smiled and then handed Kaylyn her shoe that she just recently threw at his head.

"I'm here!"

They all turned towards the door and saw a guy that had short black hair, and a single lip piercing on the right side of his mouth, with gauged ears. Kaylyn's breath instantly caught in her throat as soon as she laid her hazel eyes upon him.

"Matt! Finally!" Jimmy said, embracing his friend.

"Yeah dude, we were gonna end up leaving without ya!" Zack said. He stood up off the bed and then ran out the door yelling "Let's go!"

Jimmy and the guy named Matt followed close behind him. Kaylyn walked down the stairs and saw the three boys run out the door.

"See ya tomorrow Barbara." She said as she followed them out the door.

"To the Kaylynmobile!" Jimmy yelled, running towards the dark gray truck in Kaylyn's driveway.

"We're taking Kaylyn's truck?" Matt asked, just as they reached the truck. Jimmy got up into the driver's seat, Matt standing in the open door. "Shouldn't we go get her?"

At this time, Kaylyn was standing behind him, waiting to hand the keys to Jimmy.

"Dude. She's standing right behind you." Zack said from the passenger seat.

"Excuse me." Kaylyn said then. Matt turned around and moved out of her way. "Thank you." She handed her keys to Jimmy and got into the backseat. Matt never took his eyes off her and was still staring absently in her direction.

"Are you coming or not?" Jimmy said out the window.

"What? Oh…. Yeah." He climbed into the backseat next to Kaylyn and they were off.

"So... Am I really that invisible?" Kaylyn asked Matt after about ten minutes of driving.

"What? No." He said, hesitantly. He turned his head away from her, looking out the window at the traffic around them.

"Well you didn't notice her earlier and I have no clue how you didn't." Zack said, turning around in his seat to wink at Kaylyn.

She turned towards the window, trying to hide the blush that was creeping up on her cheeks.

"I'm so sorry Kaylyn. I just wasn't paying attention. It's early." Matt told her.

She turned towards him and looked into his greenish hazel eyes, "its okay Matt. I don't mind going unnoticed. I'm used to being ignored."

"What are you talking about?" Jimmy asked. He sounded concerned and clearly didn't like the idea of his best friend being ignored.

"You're my only friend." She looked down at her lap, embarrassed.

"No I'm not. You have Jake, and Joel, and uh Jared."

"They're my cousins, Jims. They don't count." Matt looked over at her with sad eyes. He saw tears in her eyes. They were about to escape, but before they could he put his arm around her.

"I'm your friend." He said, squeezing her shoulders.

"Same here." Zack said, giving her a warm smile.

She could tell that they weren't lying by the look in their eyes.

"Thanks guys, but you kinda just met me."

"So that doesn't mean that we won't like you. And we actually do know a lot about you. Jimmy talks about you nonstop." Zack told her, smirking.

"Do not!" Jimmy yelled, slapping Zack upside the head.

"You do to. It's like you're her dad and she just won the super bowl." Kaylyn laughed, blushing when she realized that Matt's arm was still around her shoulders.

They arrived not too long after, and got out. Kaylyn grabbed her money and then they all walked up to the main entrance. When 8 o'clock came around, they entered the large 160 acre park.

"Oh my God! This is amazing!" Kaylyn exclaimed as they began their journey through the park. "You guys are amazing! Thank you so much for coming!" She reached over and hugged the person who was standing the closest to her, which was Matt.

"Oh... Uh... Sorry." She muttered. She let go and looked over to her best friend. He was grinning like an idiot.

"Jimmy? Are you okay?" She asked.

He understood the meaning under the words and answered. "I'm as sane as I'll ever be, Lynni."

"Sure you are." Zack said under his breath.

Kaylyn linked arms with Jimmy who linked his other arm with Zack.

"Come on Matt. Let's go have some fun!" Kaylyn said, holding her arm out to him. He linked his arm through hers and they walked off to their first ride.

By lunch they had been on many rides and they were all starving. They stopped by The Hungry Bear Restaurant and got a bite to eat before heading off to ride more rides.

They had a blast. The three guys went on every ride that Kaylyn wanted to go on, well until around 10:30 p.m. It was dark then, so everything was all lit up. Kaylyn looked around at her surroundings in awe. She spotted a large ride that was beautifully lit up and she immediately wanted to go on it, even if it was a kiddy ride.

"Hey Jims. Can we go on that one?"

"Yeah, sure. Which one is it?" He had his back towards the ride and turned to see which one she was asking about, and his eyes went wide with horror. "Ummm, on second thought, Zack and I are going to go hit up some other rides. Matt will ride it with you. We'll meet you guys back at the truck." He turned around quickly and dragged Zack off in the opposite direction of the ride that she wanted to go on.

"Well that was strange. Let's go Matt!" She said, grabbing his hand and pulling him toward the ride.

"It's A Small World?" Kaylyn looked up at Matt to see he was looking at her; his look was a clone of what her best friend's was earlier.

"What's wrong with it?" She asked, confused.

"You know that if we go on that ride we'll have that song stuck in our head for weeks, right?"

Kaylyn just shrugged and pulled him along in line. He gave her a pleading look, which made her laugh.

"Okay, how about if you go on this one ride for me, we can go on anything you want for the rest of the night."

"Fine. I'll go on the stupid ride."

So they went on the ride, and Matt seemed to lighten up a bit when he saw the look of amusement on Kaylyn's face. She seemed to enjoy the ride as much as the little kids did.

"Wow. You seemed to have fun." Matt said, putting his arm around her shoulders.

"That was so funny! All those little people dancing around and singing! They were like Oompa Loompas!" Matt looked at her and then had a sudden burst of laughter.

They both laughed hysterically for what seemed like hours, but was actually only around fifteen minutes. By around 11: 40 they had been on two more rides, both of Matt's choice.

"Let's go watch the fireworks, Matt!" Kaylyn said ecstatically, jumping on his back for a piggyback ride.

He smiled up at the girl on his back, and headed towards Cinderella's Castle to watch the fireworks.

"So… Why don't you go to Huntington High? Doesn't your cousin, Jake go there?" Matt asked, trying to fill the silence between them.

"I don't really know. My uncle stuck me into a stupid all girls private school. I've never really understood why and whenever I ask him he just says that it's better for me. And it clearly isn't because I have no friends whatsoever. Then I talk to Jake about it. He says he has no clue, but he would try and talk to his dad about it." She finally paused long enough for Matt to speak.

"How did that go?" He asked.

"A screaming match. They screamed at each other all night and then, when it finally stopped Jake left and didn't come back until the next night. He and my uncle didn't talk for a week and whenever he spoke to me he was a complete ass. Then after the second night of them not speaking to each other, my uncle told me how it was all my fault and that I wasn't allowed to speak to him until Jake did again. So I stayed over at Jimmy's the whole week."

"Oh wow… I'm sorry. That must have been horrible." Matt said sympathetically.

"Yeah. It was pretty bad. But he is back to the awesome uncle that I have always known." She told him, her arms wrapped around his neck so she doesn't fall from his back as they walk towards their destination. "And plus I have almost talked him in to letting me go to Huntington High this next year."

"Sweet. Here's a bench. Let's get it before anyone else does." He lets Kaylyn off of his back and then the both of them sit down.

As they sit there and gaze up at the fireworks that had started to go off, Matt put his arm around Kaylyn who was snuggled up against his side, trying to stay warm from the cool night air.

"Are you cold, baby?" Kaylyn nodded, so he hugged her tighter, trying to warm her up.

"Do you wanna head back to the truck now?" Matt was now rubbing her legs, trying to help her warm up.

"Sure." They got up and start to walk, hand in hand, towards the exit.

They got back to the truck to find that Zack and Jimmy were already there. They noticed both of the guys staring at them. Not them, their hands. They quickly let go of each other and got into the back seat.

They drove the truck over to one of the many nearby hotels and checked in and got a room with two full beds.

"Okay, so Kaylyn and I will take one bed and you, Zack will take the other and sleep with Matt." Jimmy said, getting into the bed that was closest to the bathroom.

"Ewww. I have to sleep with Zack?" Matt asked, pretending that he was completely disgusted at that idea.

Kaylyn laughed and then went and changed into a pair of sweats that she had packed that morning. She then went and crawled into the same bed that Jimmy had not too long before and she knew that she would never forget this day.

Sunday, July 12, 1998

Kaylyn was the first up the next morning. She got up and grabbed a pair of jeans, a gray tank top, and everything else she would need out of her bag and got in the shower.

She got out around thirty minutes later and heard that the boys were all up and the news was on.

She wondered what last night meant. She clearly remembered Matt calling her baby, and them holding hands. Did it really mean anything to him? She's not sure if she likes him or not. She does have a physical attraction to him but it is too early to know if she can really like him. But he is very good looking.

Kaylyn was then pulled out of her thoughts by a knock at the door. She finished pulling her tank top over her head and then said "Come in!"

Matt walked in with only a pair of shorts on. She immediately looked away and began towel drying her hair.

"How'd you sleep last night?" Matt asked her, still standing over by the door, which was securely closed now.

"Good. Yesterday really sucked the energy outta me." She replied, setting the towel on the counter and picking up her hairbrush to brush her hair.

"I know. I was exhausted last night." Matt walked up behind her and wrapped his arms around her waist.

Kaylyn sat the brush down on the counter next to the towel and turned around in his arms to face him.

"What are you doing Matt?"

"This." Was all that he said before he started to lean in at a slow pace. Just as their lips were about to touch, they were interrupted by Jimmy knocking on the door.

"Kaylyn! Get out here now! It's Uncle Joe, and your two older cousins!" He yelled.

She rushed out of the bathroom to see Zack sitting on the bed, eyes wide and a hand over his mouth in horror.

"What is it?" She asked, scared of all the possibilities of what could have happened.

And then Jimmy answered her.

"They're dead."


	4. Ch 3 : I Want To Go Home

Sunday, July 12, 1998

Kaylyn's face turned the color of fallen snow as she took in what Jimmy had just told her. Matt reached over and put a comforting hand on her shoulder as she looked between Jimmy's sad, blue eyes, Zack's horrified green ones and then up at Matt's comforting greenish hazel ones.

"That's not something to joke about guys." Kaylyn said. She desperately wanted to believe that they were just kidding. They must be right?

"I… I'm not joking, Kaylyn." She looked into Jimmy's eyes and could see that he wasn't lying.

"How?" That was all that she could manage to choke out.

Jimmy pointed over to the television which had the image of a crime scene at one of the local banks and a picture of a man who seemed to be in his mid thirties. The caption under the photo said that the man's name is Derek Gilber.

Kaylyn walked over and sat on the floor in front of the TV. She stared ahead absently, paying no attention to anything the reporter was saying. Matt sat down next to her and looked back over to Jimmy.

"How do you know that it was her uncle?" he asked.

"My mom called…" was all that he said before Kaylyn spoke up.

"I want to go home."

"Okay babe, we'll take you home." Matt said.

Zack got up and went to Matt's bag, grabbing a pair of jeans and a t-shirt, handing them to his friend.

"Take Kaylyn to the truck. Zacky and I will be out there in a couple minutes." Jimmy said, walking into the bathroom to retrieve Kaylyn's things that were in there.

Matt stood up and changed into the clothes that Zack had handed him. Handing Zack the pair of shorts he had on from that night, he then slipped his shoes on and helped Kaylyn stand up.

"Thank you Matthew." She said as he pulled her up off the floor. They left soon after and headed out to the truck. Matt held his hand out to Kaylyn and helped her get into the backseat, getting in after her.

Once he was buckled, Kaylyn leaned her head on his shoulder and closed her eyes, falling into unconsciousness.

Not long after, Jimmy and Zack brought the bags out to the truck and put them in the bed, getting in after they were done. Once situated, they pulled out of the driveway and started the drive back to Huntington.

"How she doin' back there, Matt?" Jimmy asked about fifteen minutes into the drive, peering into the rearview mirror as he did so.

"She's still asleep." He said, running his fingers through her still damp hair.

What the three guys didn't know was that Kaylyn had woken up as soon as Jimmy had spoken, and was now secretly easdropping on their conversation.

"So… Matt." Zack said, letting out a little chuckle. "You like her."

It wasn't a question either.

"Of course he does." Jimmy spoke up, "But you know Matt, you ever hurt her, in any way at all, even if it is her fault, I will have to kill you."

Jimmy sounded so serious when he said this and Kaylyn, having known him her whole life, knew that he was. And this scared her. There was no doubt about it. If she and Matt ever did get together and it ended badly, she would be hurt, Matt would no longer be living, and Jimmy would be in prison for the murder of his own friend.

All Matt did was nod as he looked down at the girl who was snuggled up at his side.

"And I don't want to hurt you Matt. I don't wanna hurt anyone, but when it applies to Kaylyn, I will kill to protect her."

"I know Jimmy. I know." He once again nodded his head and then leaned it against the back of the seat, closing his eyes.

A little while later they pulled up to Kaylyn's house only to see a police car in the driveway.

"We'll take care of this. Stay in here with Kaylyn." Jimmy said as him and Zack got out of the truck. Matt watched as they walked over to the two police officers and then began the attempt of waking Kaylyn up.

"Can I help you guys?" Jimmy asked, approaching the men.

"We are looking for Jake and Kaylyn Harris." replied the policeman with short red hair and a mustache.

"Well Jake is on vacation at the moment." Jimmy told him.

The red head's partner who had a shaven head and dark skin spoke up. "What about Kaylyn?"

"Why do you wanna know?" Zack asked, crossing his arms over his chest.

"We would like to help them make living arrangements. Jake is free to do what he like because he is a legal adult, but Kaylyn is not." The dark skinned officer replied.

"Kaylyn… Wake up, we're home." Matt whispered in her ear. She didn't budge, so he began to gently shake her shoulder as he continued to whisper. "Babe, wake up."

Her eyes fluttered open and she peered up at Matt, a smile on her face. "Matt! Howdy!" She gave him a quick hug and then went to get out of the truck, but then noticed Jimmy and Zack standing in her driveway, speaking with two police officers.

She froze, her hand just inches from the door handle. Seeing the policemen at her house made the events of the past hour or two come flooding back into her mind. She sat back in the seat and sighed. She already had an idea of why the police were there.

"What's up?" Matt asked, confused.

"Nothing, I'm fine. I'm just going to sit here." She told him stubbornly.

"Okay. I'll be right back." He climbed out of the truck and heard Jimmy's voice.

"So? What's the big deal?" Jimmy yelled at the police officers. Only now did Jimmy realize what they meant by 'help make living arrangements'. They were planning on taking her away.

"My partner here just told you, we would like to help Kaylyn make living arrangements until her cousin gets home." The red head said.

"YOU'RE NOT TAKING MY BEST FRIEND FROM ME!" Jimmy screamed and then stormed off to find his mother and hopefully fix this mess.

"Kaylyn is still in the truck." Matt spoke up uncertainly.

"Thank you, boy." The two policemen then walked up to the truck and knocked on the window.

"Excuse me miss. May we speak with you?" The dark skinned officer asked politely. Kaylyn shook her head slightly and glared at the two officers.

"Please get out of the vehicle, miss." The other said.

"No… I'm staying right here." She looked over to Zack and Matt with pleading eyes.

"Like Jimmy said before, you're not taking her from us." Zack stated bluntly.

"Zack's right. She's not going with you." Matt concluded.

"Yes she is. She is too young to be staying on her own."

"You are certainly not taking her! I have known this girl since she was only a day old. She's staying with us!" said Barbara Sullivan. She had just barged out her front door and marched over to the two policemen, her son following close behind.

"Well ma'am, we need to make sure this is okay with Kaylyn." The red haired cop said. He looked over to where Kaylyn was sitting in the truck and asked, "Would you like to stay with your neighbors until your cousin gets home?"

Kaylyn nodded quickly and the two officers left without another word.

Once the police car was out of sight, Jimmy walked over to the truck and opened the door. He pulled Kaylyn into his arms for warm hug.

"Everything is gonna be alright." He whispered. He then helped her out of the backseat and took her into his house, Matt, Zack, and Barbara following close behind.

Jimmy took her straight to the couch and they all sat down in various seats around the room.

"Does Jake know?" Kaylyn asked, looking over to Barbara, who was sitting on the loveseat across the room.

"No. We couldn't figure out how to contact him." She replied sadly.

"Can I use the phone? Maybe he'll answer his cell."

"Of course, sweetie." Barbara told her.

Kaylyn got up and went into the kitchen. She walked up to the phone that was on the wall and dialed Jake's number. It went straight to voicemail. She tried nine more times, but nothing.

Kaylyn screamed out in frustration and slid to the floor. She pulled her knees to her chest and put her head in her hands. Shortly after her little outburst, she could hear running footsteps, and then felt someone's hands on her knees.

"Kaylyn? Is everything all right?" Came Barbara's voice. Kaylyn looked up and saw looks of concern on everybody's faces. It was Matt who had his hands on her knees. Zack was standing behind him, while Barbara and Jimmy kneeled down on either side of her.

"I couldn't get a hold of him! I tried ten times! It went straight to voicemail every time!" She said in a pained voice. She needed her cousin to be here. He was the only biological family that she knew of.

"It's okay sweetie. He'll answer eventually." Barbara told her soothingly.

"But he needs to answer NOW!" Kaylyn yelled. She pushed Matt out of her way and bolted out the front door.

"Kaylyn! Wait!" Matt called from behind her. She paid him and everyone else who was following her no attention and ran inside her house, locking the door behind her.

"Lynni! Please open the door!" Jimmy's voice was pained and she knew that she wasn't the only one who was hurting inside, but she didn't think about that then.

"Just go away!"

"I'll go get the spare keys." Barbara told the three guys. She jogged over to her house and went inside.

Kaylyn began to pace back and forth, breathing heavily in and out. Why wouldn't Jake answer his phone? He needs to answer it! She wishes that he could see it was an emergency.

She reached down and grabbed the first thing she set her hands upon. It was a glass bowl full of candy. Without even thinking, she chucked it at the door. It shattered and fell to the floor in pieces.

Her knees gave out and she fell onto them as the front door opened. Zack, Matt, Jimmy, and Barbara all stood on the threshold, staring down at all of the shattered glass and pieces of candy that littered the carpet.

"Lynni!" Jimmy yelled as the four of them ran towards her. Matt immediately pulled her to him, and then Jimmy and Zack joined him.

All this attention wasn't good for her and she knew it. She could no longer hold in her emotions, and she stopped trying to all together. She then began to sob uncontrollably as she clung to Matt's shirt.


	5. Ch 4 : Woah!

Monday, July 13, 1998

Kaylyn later awoke in her bed. She went to stretch out her limbs, which had grown stiff from sleep, but then realized that she didn't have enough space around her to do so. She rolled over onto her right side and opened her eyes to see why she was so space impaired.

When they opened she found her face only inches from Zack's. She let out a high pitched scream and tried to scoot away, only to feel another life form behind her. Whoever it was wrapped their arms around her waist.

"What the hell are you guys doing in my bed?" she yelled as she untangled herself from the three teenage boys. She jumped up and glared down at the three sleepy figures.

"We fell asleep." Zack said groggily.

"In my bed?"

Jimmy sat up then and rubbed his eyes. "Yep!" He gave her a toothy grin and laughed. Zack and Matt soon joined him.

"Okay, well I'm gonna go take a shower then." Kaylyn shook her head and headed towards her bedroom door.

"Food?" Zack asked Kaylyn as she got to her door.

"Help yourselves." She said walking out the door. She walked into the bathroom and shut the door behind her and then heard footsteps running down the stairs towards the kitchen.

While Kaylyn was in the shower, the three boys went into the kitchen to find themselves some grub. As they were searching Zack spotted a football in the other room. He ran over to the couch, on which it was sitting and picked it up,

"Hey guys. Let's play catch." He said, tossing the ball over to Matt.

He caught the ball and then threw it over to Jimmy.

"Okay you guys, but be careful. Kaylyn already has enough bothering her. She doesn't need us breaking everything." He caught the ball and they all began to throw it around the room.

After a couple of minutes they started to get a little carried away. Let's just say that they weren't being very careful. As every minute passed they grew more and more reckless. This continued on for about thirty more minutes. They no longer heard the shower going and hadn't for around fifteen minutes.

Zack tossed the ball towards Jimmy, who swung his foot just as it was about to hit the ground. It connected and the ball flew through the air and knocked down a vase up on the fireplace mantle. It shattered and grey ash poured out of it onto the carpet.

"Oh no!" Zack ran up to it and tried to pick all of the dust up with hands. "The dirt is getting into the carpet."

Matt laughed and then looked over to Jimmy. "Dude, are you okay?" He had noticed that his friend wasn't laughing at Zack like he was and then he looked over to him; Jimmy was in a state of pure horror.

Jimmy shook his head slowly and pointed at the vase and dust that Zack was trying to pick up. "That's Kaylyn's grandmother." He whispered.

Zack stopped abruptly and began to stare down at his hands as if they were a pile of rubbish. "EWWWWWWWWWWW! Dead people ashes!" He jumped up and ran over to the sink and scrubbed his hands thoroughly.

"Please tell me you're just trying to freak Zacky out." Matt said, his look now mirroring Jimmy's.

"I'm not." Jimmy said and then began to freak. "We have to clean this up! We have to get Granny Harris out of the carpet and back into something. Anything other than the carpet! Oh my God! Kaylyn's gonna kill us!"

"Vacuum cleaner?" Matt suggested. Jimmy nodded and then pointed to the stairs, letting Matt know that that's the direction in which it is. Matt caught on quickly and then bolted upstairs.

Kaylyn stepped out of the shower and did her usual morning routine which consisted of blow-drying and straitening her hair, doing her makeup, and then, last but not least, she went to put her clothes on, only to realize that she had forgotten to grab any.

She wrapped a towel around her now dry body and poked her head out the door. When she didn't see anyone, she began the short journey across the hall to her bedroom.

Out of nowhere Matt appeared at the top of the stairway, breathing heavily.

"AHHHHHH!" They screamed in unison. And then they both started to freak out at the same time.

"I'm so sorry Kaylyn! I didn't mean to… Uhhhhh…"

"Matt! What the hell?" When Matt did nothing but just stand there, she walked to his side.

"Go downstairs Matthew!" She yelled and then laughed when he didn't budge at her attempt to push him towards the staircase. "I need to get dressed!"

He grabbed her shoulders to halt her shoving and looked down at her. "Wait, hold still. I need to ask you something."

Well that's not freaky at all. Kaylyn thought.

"What is it Matt?" She looked back up at him impatiently.

"Where do you keep the supplies that are used for cleaning?" He asked, a tone of urgency to his voice. He shook her for affect as he spoke.

"Ummm… In the storage closet. Where else?" She said, holding onto her towel.

Matt continued to shake her shoulders as he asked, "Where. Is. The. Storage. Closet?"

"Matthew! My towel!" Kaylyn struggled to hold on to her towel as she spoke.

"Towel? What do you mean? Where is the STORAGE CLOSET?" He asked, still shaking her shoulders. "I NEED those supplies!"

At his point, Matt shaking her became too much and her grip slipped, along with the towel. And, of course, Jimmy decided to make his appearance upstairs at this moment.

"What is taking solo….. Kaylyn! Where are your CLOTHES? Matt! OH MY GOD! WHAT IS GOING ON?" He yelled. He reached over and covered Matt's eyes, which were looking between the towel at their feet and the look on Kaylyn's face and then closed his own tightly.

Kaylyn reached down and grabbed the towel and bolted into her room, shutting the door hurriedly once inside.

"I'm so sorry Kaylyn." Came Matt's voice through the door.

"It…. It's okay, Matt. Just get the stupid supplies and go back downstairs." She told him as she grabbed some jeans out of her closet.

Jimmy led Matt to the storage closet and they grabbed the vacuum, taking it down the stairs. Now that Matt actually thought about it, he had an idea of where the storage closet was all along. That whole situation that had just taken place never would have had to have happened.

They get downstairs and scoop up as much of Kaylyn's grandmother as they could into a glass cup and set it on the kitchen island next to the shattered vase pieces. They then vacuumed up the rest of the dust that they were unable to get out of the carpet.

"What are we gonna do with the vase?" Zack asked, wrapping up the vacuum cord.

"Ummm…. Garbage." Jimmy said. He reached in the cupboard underneath the sink and grabbed the waste basket that was situated there. He then scooped all of the pieces into the basket.

"Let's get some cards or something out so we look busy. Maybe she won't notice." Matt suggested.

"Yeah." Zack said and Jimmy nodded as he went and found a box of cards. He was the only one who knew where things were in this house so he was the one who had to grab the things that they needed.

"Why would they need cleaning supplies? Barbara cleaned the mess I made last night. So what could it be?" Kaylyn wondered aloud.

She finished getting dressed and then went downstairs. She stepped off of the last step and saw all three of the guys sitting at the kitchen table, playing a game of cards.

"Soooo… What's up guys?" She asked, but then noticed a cup of gray ash on the kitchen island. She looked over to the fireplace mantle and saw that the vase that had held her grandma's ashes was absent from its place there.

"Nothing. Just hangin' out." Zack replied, drawing a card from the deck.

Kaylyn walked over to the cup and picked it up, making her way back over to the table.

"Guys… What the HELL is this?" She held the cup up for them to see what she was talking about.


	6. Ch 5 : Phone Call & Grannie's Vase

Monday, July 13, 1998

Jimmy immediately stopped what he was doing and looked up at Kaylyn. When he saw what was in her hand he said, "Kaylyn, ummm… We can explain."

"By the look on your face I can tell I don't want to know. And I'm not in the mood for this right now." She set the cup down on the counter and then stormed over to the couch, picking up the phone that was on the end table.

"Kaylyn…" Matt said, getting up.

"Not now, Matt. I need to try and call Jake again." She dialed his number and put the phone to her ear.

After three rings someone picked up on the other end.

"Hello?" A male voice said.

"Uhhhhh… Who is this?" Kaylyn asked, confused.

"Mike."

"Why are you answering Jake's phone?"

"He's sleeping."

"Well wake him up! I need to speak with him!" She looked over to where the guys were and saw them heading up the stairs.

'Thank you boys.' She thought. She's glad that they were leaving the room, now if she cries again, they won't see it.

"Who needs to speak with him?" Mike said now.

"Jake's cousin, Kaylyn."

"Well, I'll tell him you called when he wakes up."

"You will tell him I called right NOW!" Kaylyn was now almost screaming now and she was not going to put up with this Mike guy's shit.

"No. He's asleep." Mike said stubbornly.

"YOU GIVE HIM THE FUCKING PHONE NOW OR I WILL REACH THROUGH THIS PHONE AND WRING YOUR FUCKING NECK!" She screamed into the phone. Footsteps were heard coming down the staircase and the guys popped their heads into the room.

"Lynni? Everything okay?" Jimmy asked, concerned look on his and the others' faces.

"No Jimmy. Everything is not okay. This bastard here, Mike, won't give Jake the fucking phone!" Kaylyn yelled. Jimmy shrank back a little in fear, as did Matt and Zack.

Jimmy had never seen Kaylyn THIS angry before. And well, Zack and Matt had never really seen her angry, only frustrated, so they were a little shocked.

Jake was peacefully sleeping in the hotel room that he and his buddy Mike were sharing. Well peacefully until his phone rang. Before he could even stir, Mike answered it.

"Hello?"

Silence.

"Mike."

Silence.

"He's sleeping."

Silence..

"Who needs to speak with him?"

Silence.

"Well, I'll tell him you called."

That is when Jake could slightly hear the person on the other line. They were at the point as to where they were almost screaming.

"No. He's asleep." Mike spoke up stubbornly.

Then he could REALLY hear who was on the other line and exactly what they were saying.

"YOU GIVE HIM THE FUCKING PHONE NOW OR I WILL REACH THROUGH THIS PHONE AND WRING YOUR FUCKING NECK!"

'Oh shit.' He thought to himself, 'She is PISSED!'

Jake got up then and walked over to Mike, who was still processing what Kaylyn had said. "Give me the damn phone, Mike"

He handed it to him and Jake spoke into it.

"Kaylyn? Kaylyn calm down. It's me, Jake."

"Jake? Oh thank God! I called you like ten times yesterday!" Kaylyn said.

"I'm sorry dude. I left my phone at the hotel all day." He told her and this is when she realized that she needed to tell him, but yet she had never thought of WHAT she was going to say.

"Jake, you need to come home." Was how she decided to start. She blocked out all three of the guys standing around her and told herself that if she doesn't see them, they can't see her.

"Why? Kaylyn? What's wrong?" He had never heard her sound this pained in his life.

She sighed and then whispered, "Jake…. There was a bank robbery the other day. Ten people were killed."

"It's okay, Kaylyn. Everything will be okay. I don't see any need for me to come home. And you have Jimmy there for you." Jake said, not understanding why the killing was bothering Kaylyn so much. 'Well she does tend to care about people, whether she knows them or not.' He thought.

"Jake… Six of those people were….. Were our family." She said, struggling to hold back sobs that she knew would eventually come.

"What?" He said in disbelief. "What are you talking about, Kaylyn?"

"Your dad, and brothers…. Shellie, even little Ty and Ange. They're all gone." A single tear dropped from her eye. It glistened as the afternoon sunlight shone through the large window, catching her three friends' attention.

They sat down around her as Jake just sat in silence on the other end of the line.

"Jake? Jake, please say something." Kaylyn choked out and started to shake uncontrollably as she tried to hold in her sobs.

"I'll catch the first flight home. I'll call later to let you know when I'll be in. I'll see you later."

"Bye, Jake. I love you."

"Love you too, cuz."

The line disconnected and she set the phone back on its base. She stood up then and without so much as a word, or even a glance at the three guys around her, she walked out the front door and towards the destination that she wanted to be.

Jimmy stood up and followed her out.

"Lynni?" He called as he jogged to catch up with her, and when he did, she looked up at him, tears running down her face.

"I just wanna be alone right now, Jims." And with that, she took off down the street as fast as she could.

"Kaylyn!" Jimmy shook his head and walked back to the house. He had never EVER seen her this upset. She always talked to him, about EVERYTHING… 'She's probably just doesn't want us to see her cry.' He thought, 'She doesn't want us to think she's weak.'

Which was exactly right. Kaylyn felt so weak and vulnerable when she cried and she hoped that they wouldn't ever see her cry again, so she ran.

She continued to run until she finally realized that no one had followed her, she slowed her pace down to a walk. She glanced up and noticed that the place she wanted was only a block away, and she jogged to it.

Jimmy walked into the house, and saw Matt and Zack in the same spot they had been only a minute ago. "I'm gonna go find her." He said, grabbing Kaylyn's keys from over by the kitchen sink, where he left them the night before.

"We'll come with you." Matt said as he stood up. Zack nodded and stood next to his friend.

"You guys should stay hear incase Jake calls." Jimmy said, heading towards the door.

"Fine. Zack will stay." Matt began walking towards where Jimmy was standing by the front door.

"Hey! No! If I can't go then you can't go either!" Zack said.

"Just stay here Matt. I'll be back soon. Just make sure you guys listen for the damn phone." With that, he walked out the door and to the truck. He had a good idea of where Kaylyn was and when he got there, and got out of the truck, he found out he was right.

He found Kaylyn sitting on a rock in a small hidden area in the middle of Central Park. This is where she has always gone when she was upset, and Jimmy would always make sure to be there to comfort her.

"Hey." He sat down on the ground in front of her, putting a comforting hand on her knee.

"Hi Jims." She whispered. She looked down and tried to hide her face from her best friend.

"You gonna be alright?" he asked, wrapping his arms around her shaking body.

She nodded as she stood up and wiped the tears from her eyes. "Should we head back? Jake was supposed to call."

"Yeah. Let's go." Jimmy got up and they linked arms.

They walked back in silence, until they were only about a block from their street, which was when Kaylyn brought up the subject that Jimmy hoped she had forgotten.

"So, Jims. What was that glass of ash?" Kaylyn asked curiously.

"Ummm…. Well Zack found a football and so we decided to play catch in the living room while you were in the shower. It got kinda outta hand and then, well…" He began to explain, "We didn't mean to break it. Really! I'm so sorry Lynni!"

"Are you talking about what I think you're talking about?" she gave him an odd look as she spoke and he just nodded and said,

"I think so."

She took off then and ran into the house. She had to see for herself.

'Could they really be that reckless?' she wondered.

As she ran into the living room, where Zack was sitting on the couch with Matt who was currently on the phone with Jake, she confirmed that yes, they could be that reckless and on top of that, stupid. There was no sign of the vase that had contained her grandmother's ashes.

"I can't believe you guys broke Granny's vase!" She yelled, throwing her arms up for affect.

"Yeah, we'll make sure we're there to pick you up. See you then." Matt said into the phone. He put the phone back on the base and then got up and went up to Kaylyn.

"Kaylyn…. We didn't mean to do it. Really, we didn't." he said.

Jimmy walked in then and looked over to them.

"Well, you guys are the ones who chose to play with the football in my living room!" She walked over to the stairs and looked back over to where the three boys were now standing in the living room, "And boys, let me enlighten you a bit. There is this place that has lots of room and fresh air that you are free to play football without spilling peoples' grandparents all over their carpet. And it would be called OUTSIDE!"

And with that she went up the stairs and into her room, slamming the door behind her.


	7. Ch 6 : To The Airport!

Monday, July 13, 1998

As soon as the door slammed behind her, she heard faint footsteps outside her door.

"Lynni?"

"Go away." She said as she crawled under her covers. "Just go home."

"Kaylyn, we really didn't mean to." Zack said.

"Just go home! I don't care what you do, but whatever you do, don't do it here!" She yelled. She really hoped that they would just leave. She just wants to be alone and doesn't want anyone around right now. Well, except for maybe Jimmy.

She heard footsteps descending down the staircase. She quickly got up and sprinted to the door.

"Jims! Wait!" She yelled, sticking her head out the door.

"What is it, Lynni?" Jimmy asked, looking at her from the top of the staircase.

"Can…. Can you stay for a little longer?"

He nodded and then turned to Zack and Matt. "Are you guys planning on going to the airport with us?"

"Yeah." Matt said, and Zack nodded in agreement.

"Okay, be here at 7. Don't be late, we won't wait for you." With that he turned around and went back upstairs to Kaylyn's room.

He walked into her bedroom and over to her bed, where she was currently sitting.

"Jimmy, what do I do now?" She looked up to him and he could see tears in her eyes.

"What do you mean? You don't have to do anything. I'll take care of you. I'll always be here for you Kaylyn." He wrapped his long arms around her and she laid her head on his shoulder

Jimmy left after about ten minutes. He had gotten Kaylyn to calm down and she was now in a better mood than before.

It is now seven and Kaylyn, Zack, and Jimmy are all getting into, as Jimmy calls it, the "Kaylynmobile." Just as they were pulling out of the driveway, Matt comes running towards them, yelling at the top of his lungs.

"WAIT! I'M HERE! DON'T LEAVE WITHOUT ME!"

Jimmy chuckled and stopped so Matt could get in. Jimmy was driving and Kaylyn had shotgun, which left Matt sitting in the back with Zack.

Kaylyn turned around in her seat so she could take a glance at the two guys in the backseat. "Okay boys, we don't wanna hear the sound of you two snoggin' all the way to the airport, so keep it to a minimum, alright?"

Both Matt and Zack's faces were struck by looks of horror and they stared over at Kaylyn, who is now facing forward, as she snickered silently to herself.

"Hey!" Zack was the first of the two to speak up. "We all know that I'm not gay. I love women too much!"

"What about Matty over here then? Are you gay Matthew?" Kaylyn stared forward out the window at the Pacific Coast Highway as they continued to drive towards the airport.

Matt's cheeks immediately began to fill with color. Zack leaned up and grabbed the back of the seat so he could see the expression on Kaylyn's face.

"I'd say he was, BUT… he loves you too much." He said, smiling at the look that had creeped up onto Kaylyn's face.

The look upon her face was one that almost mirrored Matt's, color and all, which was exactly how he had wanted her to react. He leaned back into his earlier position and burst out into a fit of laughter.

"What are you laughing about, Zacky?" Kaylyn asked, turning around to glare at him.

"Haven't you noticed that Matt hasn't said a word? He's not even denying it." Jimmy joined in with Zack's laughter, but Matt remained silent.

Kaylyn glanced at Matt and then back at Zack, who was still laughing hysterically. She then turned back around and turned the radio up, blaring Billie Jean throughout the truck.

"What the fuck is this?" Zack asked. He practically had to yell over the music.

"Michael Jackson. What else would it be?" Kaylyn answered, smiling to herself.

"No complaining Zacky. It's Kaylyn's truck, she controls the music." Jimmy told him.

"Maybe you're the one that's gay, Jimmy." Zack retorted.

"I have to piss…" was all that he said.

He pulled off the road at the first rest stop he came across, and raced towards the men's room. Zack and Matt got out right after and followed their friend so they could take care of their business.

Kaylyn chuckled at her long time best friend and her two new ones as she got out and walked up to a nearby vending machine. She bought herself a Pepsi and then sat down on a bench to wait for the guys.

Matt was the first of the three to come out.

"Hey." He immediately occupied the empty space next to her and grabbed the Pepsi out of her hands, taking a large gulp from it.

"Matt!" She groaned.

"What did he do this time?" Jimmy walked out of the bathroom followed by Zack.

"He took my Pepsi!" She leaned over and tried to grab the soda, but Matt jumped up from his spot on the bench.

"But Kaylyn... I'm thirsty!" Matt whined. He chugged the rest of the soda down and placed the bottle back in Kaylyn's hand.

Jimmy and Zack were almost wetting themselves at the sight of Kaylyn's partly shocked and partly pissed off expression. She stood up and threw the bottle away and then stalked past Matt and to her truck. The three boys followed, who were all laughing, and climbed into their seats.

Kaylyn reached over, switched the cd, and hit play. She was hoping that she could possibly block the guys out the rest of the way there. She loved all three of them and they were the only people she had, besides Jake, and Jimmy, Zack, and Matt are her best friends, even though she has only known Zack and Matt for three days now, but they are just taking everything too lightly. Kaylyn is on an emotional rollercoaster and any little thing can cause a dip on the track.

A little later they finally got to the airport. Jimmy parked the truck and the four of them made their way to where they were to meet Jake.

They sat there, in the comfortable yet uncomfortable airport seats, waiting for Jake's flight to come in. His plane ended up finally landing at 8:33 p.m.

Kaylyn began having a hard time controlling her emotions. The rollercoaster was approaching a dip, but she wasn't sure how far down that dip goes. She'll just have to wait and see.

They sat there for about five minutes until Jake's form came into view. Kaylyn jumped up at the sight of him and ran towards him, until a security guard grabbed her shoulders.

"Sorry miss, but you're gonna have to wait here." The man said.

Kaylyn glared up at him as she walked away, trying to inch her way towards Jake.

"Miss, if you're not going to listen to me then you are going to have to sit down." The security guard began towards her, so she headed back towards her friends and stuck her tongue out at the man who just rolled his eyes and continued watching the many people scattered around the large airport.

Soon after Kaylyn was back over with the guys and they were all talking about how much of a dick the security guard was, Jake came up to them.

"Hey." He said, setting his luggage onto the floor.

"Jake!"


	8. Ch 7 : Making Plans and Introductions

**Just to clear up any confusion, I have changed the main characters name from Hannah Kay Tupper to Kaylyn Marie Harris... **

Monday, July 13, 1998

Kaylyn immediately wrapped her cousin into a tight embrace and held him close. She was afraid to let go. Afraid that she might lose him too. She had lost the rest of her family and now is when she realized that anything is possible.

They walked through the airport, arms linked, towards the parking garage.

She battled against her tears all the way there but she got lucky and won. She managed to make it back to the truck without letting them leak.

They had soon packed all of Jake's bags into the back of Kaylyn's truck and then left the airport. The way back to Huntington Beach was silent, so silent that all you could hear was the sound of the outside traffic and Kaylyn's soft breathing as she slept in the backseat in between Matt and Jake.

"So Jimmy, how has she been?"

It was Jake who spoke. They weren't too far away now and he needed to talk to the one person who would really know how his cousin was doing.

"She got a lot better after I talked to her earlier today." Jimmy replied.

"She does seem much livelier tonight." Zacky said, looking back at Jake.

Jake nodded and looked down at his cousin only to notice that he wasn't the only one.

Jake looked over to where Matt was sitting on the other side of Kaylyn. Matt's eyes met Jake's for a brief second and then towards the window to see them pulling into Zacky's driveway.

After they had all said their goodbyes and were back at Jake and Kaylyn's house, Jake carried his cousin up to her room and then went to bed himself.

Tuesday, July 14, 1998

The next morning Kaylyn was awoken by her phone ringing. She looked at the clock and wondered who would be calling her at this time. It was only nine in the morning. Without seeing who it was who was calling, she picked up.

"Hello?" She grumbled sleepily.

"Kaylyn! I just got off the phone with Jimmy who was just on the phone with Zacky… We're goin' to Zacky's house today and we want YOU to come." Matt's voice said through the phone speaker.

"But it's too early. Let me sleep some more." Kaylyn was getting frustrated. She hated it when things woke her up in the morning, especially a summer morning.

"No, it's not too early and anyways I'm already outside of your house so get your ass up and come let me in." Kaylyn let out a sigh at Matt's stubbornness and hung up the phone.

"If he wasn't so h…" Kaylyn stopped that thought before she could even finish saying it. She couldn't like him, or so that's what she kept on trying to tell herself.

She got up out of bed and put on a pair of jeans, converse, and a t-shirt deciding that she would just skip taking a shower. Throwing her hair up, she jogged down the stairs and opened the door. Just as Matt had said, he was there standing on her front porch, She could see a car that she didn't recognize in her driveway behind him and assumed that Matt had driven it over there.

"Well hello sleepy head. Don't you look charmingly tired today?" Matt chuckled and grabbed Kaylyn's hand, pulling her towards the car. He opened the passenger side door for her and then popped his head in.

"I'll go grab Jimmy, be right back." She watched as he ran over to Jimmy's house and through the front door. Seconds later he returned back outside, Jimmy following close behind.

They got into the car and then drove a couple blocks to Zacky's house.

Jimmy was the first to jump out of the car and burst through the door.

"HONEY! I'M HOME!" He yelled, pausing in the doorway. Matt and Kaylyn, who had been running after him didn't expect this pause which caused them to run strait into him. On impact, Matt fell backwards, knocking Kaylyn to the ground.

"Oh my God! Kaylyn! Are you alright?" He yelled as he quickly stood up and then bent back down to help her get to her feet.

Meanwhile, Zack had called up a set of stairs and had told them to come on down.

"Yeah… I'm alright..." She got up and followed Matt and Jimmy to the stairs. The whole way down there she had to continue to reassure Matt that she was okay.

"Hey guys!" Zacky ran up to the three of them, giving all of his friends' hugs.

Kaylyn noticed two other people sitting on one of the couches that was down there.

Zack noticing what she was seeing said "Oh Kaylyn, meet my little brother Matt, and my twin sister, Kelly."

"Hi!" Kaylyn plopped down onto the couch in between Zacky's two siblings.

"Well isn't it the oh so famous Kaylyn." Matt B. said, smiling.

"Oh yes it is little brother. Zacky would not shut up about you all last night." Kelly looked up at Zacky and laughed at his embarrassed expression. "Oh look, he's blushing!"

After a good five hours of just messing around and playing video games, Kaylyn decided that she had better head home and spend some time with her cousin.

"See ya later guys." She could tell that her and Zacky's sister were probably gonna become good friends and she was happy that she was meeting people that she could actually get along with.

Matt drove her home and walked her up to the door.

"So would you like me to stay?" Matt asked hopefully.

"If you would like to." Kaylyn replied.

"I'll only stay if you say that you want me to stay." Matt crossed his arms over his chest and looked down at the 5'7" girl who had so easily won him over.

"Fine… I want you to stay." She sighed and opened the front door.

"Alright then, that wasn't too hard, was it?" Matt followed her into the living room where they found Jake sitting on the couch, on the phone. They sat down on the couch across from him and wait patiently until he got off the phone.

When he finally got off he acknowledged his cousin and her new friend.

"That was the funeral place (can't remember what it's called and too sleepy to look it up) and I just finished making the arrangements."

"Oh Jake, you should have called me! I would have helped you." Kaylyn said. Now she felt bad for leaving and now Matt felt bad for dragging her out of the house in the first place.

"No Kaylyn, it's alright. It wasn't too hard to set up. It'll be on the seventeenth." Jake replied, standing up.

"Can my friends come?" Kaylyn asked. She would need people there. She would be able to fight the urge to cry better if there were more people there that she actually knew.

"Yeah. I'm gonna go take care of a few things now. Can I use your truck? I'll be back in an hour." Kaylyn nodded her head and told Jake where her keys were.

"Bye Jake!" Kaylyn and Matt called in unison. They then turned towards each other and busted out in a fit of laughter.


	9. Ch 8 : New Relationships

Tuesday, July 14, 1998

"You know, we sure do have a lot in common." Matt said after their fit of laughter had stopped.

"Yeah, we do." Kaylyn agreed and looked over to where he was sitting next to her. She felt kinda odd, sitting alone with Matt. She had never been truly alone with him before and now that she was, she realized just how much he means to her. "This is all so new to me, Matt."

"What is?"

"This. You and me. I feel so close to you. The only person I feel closer to is Jimmy, but that's understandable, I've known him for sixteen years. I've only known you for four days, but yet I feel like I've known you for so much longer. And on top of that, I've never really had friends before, well besides Jimmy, but you've heard that story already. I never open up like this, but I've told you so much about my personal life already, another three days and you'll probably know me as well as Jimmy does." She told him, letting out a small laugh as she looked into his eyes; every word she said was the truth.

"I really like you, Kaylyn." Matt told her, showing off his dimples.

"I really like you, too." She replied, not fully understanding what he was implying.

"No. I mean, I REALLY like you. I don't know how to explain this." Matt fidgeted in his seat and then fully turned his body towards the girl that had left him mesmerized from the first time he saw her. She had her blank, confused look on her face and Matt realized that he was going to have to just skip to the point. "Kaylyn, what I'm trying to say is; I like you more than I've ever liked any other girl before and I was kinda wondering if maybe…. If maybe you wanted to be my girlfriend."

"Really?" Matt could see a slight smile forming on her lips as she spoke her one word question. He nodded yes and he didn't even get to see Kaylyn's face, because her arms were immediately around his neck in a tight embrace.

"So, is that a yes?" Matt asked, returning her embrace.

Kaylyn pulled back and beamed at who was once just her best friend, but was now her boyfriend. "Of course it is."

Matt then cupped her cheek in his hand and pressed his lips to hers. Her body stiffened at first, but then she soon melted into him feeling like one of the luckiest people in the world.

"Hiya guy…s! Ummm, sorry, didn't mean to interrupt… Uhhhhh... I'll just be at, uhh, my house…" Jimmy then began to back out the door.

"It's okay Jims…. Here, come sit with us." Kaylyn said, patting the space beside her. Jimmy shrugged his shoulders and then plopped down next to Kaylyn.

"I can't believe you guys are finally together!" Jimmy exclaimed excitedly. "Oh, you guys are just so cute together. I always thought it was Zacky who would win your heart, Lynni, but now I know I was wrong, and I'm so glad that I was!"

"Zacky? Seriously?" Matt asked Jimmy, "Out of all the people to win her heart over it would have been me, and look, it was me!"

"Cocky much?" Jimmy replied, smirking. Kaylyn just giggled and shook her head.

"What? Is there someone out there who you think would have had a better chance?" Matt shot back defensively, all the while grinning.

"Well… she hasn't met Bri yet." Jimmy laughed at Matt's expression and hid behind Kaylyn's body.

"Oh, shit. You're right, Brian always gets the girls." Matt frowned.

"It's alright, Matt. I don't wanna be with anybody but you." Kaylyn said, looking up into Matt's eyes.

"Awwwwwww! You guys are adorable!" He then went silent, as if in thought, but this lasted only a couple seconds, because suddenly he jumped up in excitement. "I can't wait to tell everyone!"

"No!" Kaylyn and Matt both yelled in unison.

Jimmy stuck out his tongue at his two friends and sulked back to his spot next to Kaylyn on the couch.

"You guys are such party poopers!" Jimmy sighed and imitated boredom.

"Sorry Jimmy, but Matt and I would really like to tell everyone when the time is right." Kaylyn reached over and gave her friend a hug.

"Fiiiiiiiiiiinnnnne." Jimmy whined, sticking his feet up on the coffee table sitting in front of him.

"Would you guys like anything to drink?" Kaylyn asked.

"I want some…. Ummm…" Jimmy paused to think for a second. "APPLE JUICE! And Matt wants some too."

"You want some apple juice Matty?" Kaylyn asked.

"Sure, why not." Matt laughed and copied Jimmy's position on the couch.

Kaylyn stood up and stepped over Jimmy. Upon entering the kitchen, she noticed the glass of ashes still sitting on the kitchen island. Kaylyn had always loved her grandma very much and she was crushed when they had found her. Her grandmother was just a really old looking kid. She played with Kaylyn whenever they visited her which caused Kaylyn to become very close to her, which made the death harder, but Jimmy had helped her get through it.

She sighed and then grabbed three glasses out of the cupboard, filling them with apple juice. She walked back out to the living room and set the glasses on the coffee table.

A little while later, Jake walked through his front door, completely exhausted. He heard laughter coming from up stairs, which made him smile, happy to hear his cousin having a good time.

Jake slowly made his way up the stairs, towards Kaylyn's room, where he could hear Jimmy and Kaylyn arguing over what cd to listen to.

"Cowboys From Hell." Kaylyn said stubbornly, sitting on the floor in front of her bed, leaning back on Matt's knees.

"No, Vulgar Display Of Power." Jimmy said from the other side of the bedroom, crossing his arms over his chest.

Jake popped his head in then, giving his opinion. "How 'bout you listen to Guns N' Roses instead. Appetite For Destruction is always a good choice."

"Jake!" Kaylyn jumped up and ran over to where her cousin was standing in the doorway, giving him a tight hug.

"Hey, I'm goin' to go lay down. I'm exhausted." Jake told Kaylyn after he had said hello to the boys.

He left the room and Kaylyn joined Matt on the bed as Jimmy put in the Guns N' Roses album Jake had suggested.

"So, Matt, are you going to come to the funeral with Jimmy and me?" Kaylyn laid her head on his shoulder and watched as Jimmy played the drum parts of Welcome To The Jungle on his knees.

"If you would like me to." Matt replied.

Jimmy stopped tapping along to the song and looked up at his two friends. "She wants you to. Zacky and Kelly said they'd go too. I thought you would like it if they came." He said happily. He then continued to jam on his legs as the music flowed from the speakers.

"You know me too well." Kaylyn said, lying back onto her bed.

The three of them hung out like that for hours, until it had become dark. Matt and Jimmy had left after saying good night.

Kaylyn changed into her gray sweats and crawled under the covers in the happiest mood she had been in for days.


	10. Ch 9 : Oh, Brother

Thursday, July 16, 1998

"Guys, I think we have a predicament." Zack said, as he walked up to where his friends were sitting at Huntington Central Park.

"What is it, Zacky?" Matt asked.

"I have nothing nice to wear tomorrow." Zack sat down on the side of Matt that Kaylyn was not occupying.

"Well, that is a predicament, 'cause I don't either." Kaylyn said, "I haven't worn an actual dress since my cousins wedding when I was ten."

"Hey, you guys know what this means, right?" Jimmy asked excitedly.

"What?" Matt asked. Then he groaned in annoyance when he realized what Jimmy was implying.

"We get to go shopping!" Jimmy stood up quickly, pulling Zacky and Matt up off of the bench. Kaylyn just laughed and allowed matt to pull her along with him.

From there they went to the mall and found all three of the guys some nice, black suits, and Kaylyn a knee length black dress.

"Hi, Jake." Kaylyn plopped down next to where his cousin was staring blankly at the TV screen.

"Hey." Jake continued to watch his show.

"Uh, I was wondering can I stay at Jimmy's tonight." Kaylyn asked uneasily. She wasn't sure if her cousin wanted her here or not tonight, with the funeral being tomorrow and everything else he'll have to deal with. But then again, he might not want her around. That's why she's asking to leave, give him some time to deal.

"Yeah. Go ahead." He looked away from the television and gave her a small smile.

Kaylyn wrapped her arms around her grieving cousin, trying to put all the love she could into it.

"So I'll see ya tomorrow then." She said after they had let go of eachother.

Jake nodded and then went back to staring at the TV.

"Love you, cuz." Kaylyn said, smiling.

"Love you too, Kay."

Kaylyn gave her cousin one more quick hug, grabbed her dress and makeup bag off the table where she had put it earlier and headed over to Jimmy's house next door.

The two of them later fell asleep on the couch together where he they had stayed up and watched a couple of their favorite movies.

Friday, July 17, 1998

Knocking on the front door is what woke Jimmy up at nine in the morning. The funeral wasn't until one so he wasn't planning on getting up until at least eleven, so he had no clue as to who it could be. He got up, wearing only a pair of basketball shorts and answered the door.

"Brian? What are you doing here?" Brian was the last person Jimmy expected to be on his doorstep, especially because Brian was supposed to be on vacation with his family until the twentieth.

"Thought I'd drop by and see what's up. The family decided to come home early." Brian replied.

"Oh, okay!" Jimmy embraced his friend and invited him inside. They walked into the living room, causing Kaylyn to stir. 

"Jims?" She sat up and rubbed her eyes.

"Hey, Lynni!" Jimmy said, as he sat down on the couch that Kaylyn was still occupying. That's when she noticed Brian; his dark hair, brown eyes, everything. She was instantly attracted to him, but then Matt flooded her mind; his dark hair, which was shorter than the guy's who stood before her, his hazel eyes, and everything else that had attracted her to him.

She shook her head, trying to clear her mind and that's when he spoke. "Hey, I'm Brian." His voice wasn't as deep as matt's, but it wasn't high pitched either. And, he actually stuck out his hand.

Kaylyn shook it hesitantly, "Kaylyn."

"Well, it's nice to meet you Kaylyn." He smiled and then sat on the chair that was not far from the couch.

"Is it almost time to get ready?" Kaylyn asked Jimmy.

"Nope, look at the clock." He pointed over to the clock that sat just above the television. It read 9:14 am.

"What the hell am I doing up then? Brian, it was nice to meet you but I'm going back to sleep." Kaylyn then got up and went to Jimmy's room.

"Dude, you didn't tell me you had a girlfriend." Brian said, turning to his friend.

"She's not my girlfriend and we have already had this talk, remember." Jimmy said.

"Oh yeah, I remember that. So that was the Kaylyn that you always talk about?" Brian asked, smirking.

Jimmy nodded.

"Any she's your best friend, right?" Brian continued.

Jimmy just nodded again, confused about where Brian was going with this.

"You should hook me up with her!"Brian said as if it was the best idea in the world.

"Sorry buddy, but someone already beat ya to the punch." Jimmy laughed. If only he knew one of their best friends was one her boyfriend.

"She would surely leave him for me, I mean, look at me, I'm gorgeous." Brian said as if it was obvious to everyone.

"Uhh… I don't think HE would like that." Jimmy said.

"Who is-"

"And plus she really doesn't need you trying to convince her to leave her boyfriend. She's not at the best emotional state right now." Jimmy interrupted.

"What, why? What's wrong?" Brian asked, his voice laced with concern.

"Well while you were gone there was a bank robbery, ten people were killed, six of which were her family. That was six days ago. The funeral is at one." Jimmy said. He sounded sad, and Brian could tell that he was hurting also.

"Well shit. That really sucks. Does she have any other family?"

"Only her cousin, Jake Harris. Well that's all that she knows of. We don't know if there are any more."

Jimmy and Brian continued to talk for about an hour, then Brian left so Jimmy could get ready and get Kaylyn up to get ready.

Jimmy took a quick shower and put on his new suit, making sure he looked presentable for a funeral. He then went to his room to wake up his best friend.

"Kaylyn, Kaylyn wake up. It's time to get ready." He said as he shook her shoulder softly.

"Okay." She said groggily. She got up and took a shower, then dried her hair, letting it fall in curls around her shoulders. She walked out of the bathroom and back into Jimmy's room to find him still on his bed.

"Hello." She grabbed her dress, which had fresh undergarments with it and started to remove her towel.

"Oh, I can leave if you'd like me to." Jimmy said, uneasily.

"No, it's alright. You've already seen me naked anyway." She said, fully removing her towel. Jimmy couldn't help but avert his eyes anyway as she got dressed. After the dress was on she slipped on some ankle socks and her low top converse she put some make up on and was ready.

Her and Jimmy then left the house and walked to the Good Sheppard Cemetery, where friends and family were beginning to gather for the service.

"Now that I have said these words for my family, I would like to ask my cousin, Kaylyn, who has lived with us for all of her sixteen years to come up and speak." Jake finished, smiling over to where Kaylyn was sitting between Matt and Jimmy, Zacky and Kelly standing behind her. She returned his smile and walked over to where he was standing. They shared a quick hug and then Jake returned to his seat.

Kaylyn looked out upon the crowd of people who had all cared for her family. Then she looked at her friends and saw their smiles that were being projected toward her in a way of comfort and so, she began.

"You know, I didn't plan a speech. Why would I do that? I would rather speak from the heart while talking about the people that I have loved, but first I need to tell you all something, something that only I, my uncle Joe, Jared, and my father know. And yes, I mean my biological father. I think Uncle Joe had said his name was Sam. Well, you see, my mother died shortly after I was born. My father, filled with sorrow and rage, said he didn't want me, said I was the reason his wife was dead, So my uncle, being the great man he is, took me in. And his family accepted me with open arms. As did our wonderful neighbors, the Sullivans'." She then smiled over to where Barbara and with her husband, Joe. "Their son, Jimmy has been my best friend since before I can even remember. And without then I wouldn't be who I am today, but my uncle and cousins are the best biological family I could ever hope for, so thank you guys, for being there for me when I needed you," she looked down upon her family's graves and spoke directly to them. "And I hope your journey up to heaven was smooth and undisturbed." By the end she had tears flowing down her face.

A little while later everyone went to Jake and Kaylyn's house for food and stuff like that. When Kaylyn entered the house, she immediately felt horrible. The food looked amazing and there was SO much of it. She knows that Jake had gotten up early that morning just to do all of this and she had slept in over at Jimmy's house. Right then she promised herself to help Jake around the house more often.

The whole first floor was just covered with people. They were everywhere. Everywhere Kaylyn turned a new face would pop up. She had recently gone to the bathroom and came back out to find her friends gone. She has been searching the house for them, but they must be looking for her too, because she has checked every possible place they could be in the house.

'Maybe they're outside." She thought. She began making her way through the house towards the back door only to be stopped by a tall man that had brown hair and hazel eyes.

"Kaylyn?" He asked hesitantly.

"Ummm, yeah."

"You said your dad's name was Sam, right?" He continued with the strange questions.

"That's what my uncle told me." She replied, feeling a little uneasy with the man's questions.

"My name's Kayne and I uhh... I think I'm your brother."


	11. Ch 10 : Tension

'I couldn't possibly have a brother, could I?' Kaylyn asked herself mentally. 'Well it would be possible. He does look a lot older than me."

"Hey, Lynni who's this?" Jimmy popped up on one side of her and she felt arms snake around her waist from behind. She looked around and saw Matt behind her. Zacky and Kelly were nowhere in sight.

"I'm Kayne, and you guys are?" He glared at Matt over Kaylyn's shoulder, his protective older brother instincts kicking in.

"Hiya Kayne! Jimmy here! And that's Kaylyn's boyfriend slash one of my best friends, Matt." Jimmy replied.

"So Kayne, how do you know Kaylyn's family?" Matt asked from his place behind Kaylyn, who was still just standing there, shocked expression on her face.

"Well, that's the main reason that I'm here. I think Kaylyn is my sister. Her story matches mine. Just over sixteen years ago my mother died shortly after labor and then my father came home and told me that not only my mother died, but so did my baby sister. I was pretty young then, but I remember it. I remember every little detail of that day. He said her name was Kaylyn Marie Harris." Kayne told them, "And when we got the invitation to the funeral, it was signed by both Jake and Kaylyn Harris. I could only hope that my father, our father, was lying. And after you told your story at the funeral, I knew for sure that he was and my sister is alive."

Matt and Jimmy's expressions instantly turned into ones of shock, but Kaylyn composed herself enough to be able to speak.

"So, I really have a brother." It wasn't a question, but Kayne nodded his head yes anyways.

"Well that was very unexpected." She let out a shaky laugh and was thankful for Matt having his strong arms around her waist. "Hell, even Jimmy is speechless. Jimmy's never speechless." She elbowed him playfully, trying lighten up the mood a bit. "Where are Zacky and Kelly?"

"Outside on the back porch." Matt answered. "Do you suppose we should tell them about us. I think they're the only ones who don't know yet." 

"Yeah, it's kinda mean of us to keep it from them." She patted him on the cheek and then turned back to Kayne, her brother. "You're welcome to stay with us. I don't think Jake would mind. And maybe we could go out to lunch tomorrow."

"Thank you. I would like that." Kaylyn gave him a quick, awkward hug and then went outside after telling him that she needed some time to process the whole situation, which was true, today has been a rough day for her.

"Hey! You guys are back! Took ya long enough!" Zack yelled excitedly.

"yeah, well we kinda ran into someone." Matt told them.

"Uhh... Matty, I think we should tell them our secret now." Kaylyn said.

"Yes! MATTY, you guys should tell Kelly and Zacky your secret. It's not very nice to keep secrets from your friends." Jimmy said excitedly, "Guys, I REALLY wanted to tell you but they wouldn't let me! So don't blame me if ya get mad!" He then sat criss cross next to Kelly on the bench of the porch, right in front of where Zack was sitting on the railing.

"Well, three days ago, I asked Kaylyn to be my girlfriend." He smiled over to his girlfriend, and she returned it.

"And of course I said yes! So Matt and I are officially a couple." Kaylyn finished.

"I so knew something was up with you two! I'm happy for ya Kay!" Kelly got up from her seat and hugged her friend, and then went and hugged Matt too.

"Are you serious? You guys have known eachother for what? A week?" Kaylyn could see a mix of emotions on his face, a mix of pain and anger. But all Matt saw was the anger.

"What the hell, man? Can't you just be happy for us?" Matt asked harshly, his temper flaring.

"Well you guys got together after only knowing eachother for FOUR DAYS!" Zack yelled. He was hurt. Hurt that he didn't even have a chance with Kaylyn. Matt had beaten him to her.

"Dude! What's wrong with that? We have pretty much everything in common, and we enjoy being around eachother! What's so wrong with us waning to take the next step?" Matt yelled back. Kaylyn and Kelly were shocked, but Jimmy wasn't. He had a feeling that something like this was going to happen.

"Your guys' relationship will never last! You guys are moving way to fast! It's just like what happened with Val!" Zack yelled.

Kelly gasped, shocked that he brother would actually go there. "Come on Zacky, let's go." She grabbed his wrist and attempted to drag him away from the whole situation.

Matt lunged, but was stopped short by Jimmy jumping in front of him, grabbing his arms.

"Matt! Calm down!" Jimmy yelled. By now a couple of people have gathered outside to see what all the commotion was.

Kaylyn was disappointed in Matt and Zack. Good friends shouldn't fight like that, over anything. She shook her head and fled. She got away from the situation as fast as she could by running up the stairs and shutting herself in her bedroom. She knew that all of her new friendships were too good to be true. 'I wonder who Val is and why did Matt get so pissed when Zack said "I's just like what happened with Val" and who is Val anyway. I'll have to ask Jimmy about it later.' She though, laying back onto her soft bed.

Kelly and Zack left soon after that and at last Jimmy got Matt calmed down.

"Where'd Kaylyn go?" Matt asked Jimmy, looking around for her.

"I don't know." Jimmy started looking around too, but then he realized that she probably fled to her bedroom because of the Matt and Zack situation. He turned and headed inside, not even bothering to tell Matt where he was going.

"Yo, dude, where ya going?" Matt yelled after him.

"To go find Kaylyn."

He walked to the stairs and went straight up them, heading to Kaylyn's room.

"Lynni?" He opened the door and found his best friend laying on her bed.

"Lynni, are you alright?" Jimmy walked over to the bed and sat down.

"Jims, am I ruining Matt and Zacky's friendship? Should I have said no to Matt? I think Zacky might like me! He looked so hurt! What should I do?" Kaylyn ranted, and Jimmy just smiled and said comforting things to her.

"NO, you are not, I won't let them ruin their friendship fighting over you; NO, you should not have said no to Matt; and I think you should do what you think is best for YOU." Jimmy told her, answering all her questions. "You need to think about yourself for once. You're always thinking about everyone else before you, and sometimes you need to just think of what's best for you. More than one guy likes you, but you couldn't have helped that."

"Who all likes me? Do you know?" Kaylyn instantly cheered up, filled with curiosity.

"Well, Matt. And Zacky might." Jimmy said, fidgeting a little, not wanting to tell her about Brian, because he knew that Matt had followed him up there and was standing outside the door.

"I know that! I know there's more! I can tell Jimmy! I know you!" She sat up as she spoke and pushed his arm playfully.

Jimmy sighed in defeat. "Fine, Brian asked me if I could hook you and him up this morning."

Matt burst in then, before Kaylyn could even answer. "brain's home?"

"Uhh... Yeah, he got in last night." Jimmy said, looking over to Matt. He doesn't think Matt even noticed what Jimmy had said, which was alright with him.

"Well why hasn't he said anything to me? That dick." Matt sat down next to Jimmy on the bed. "Kaylyn, I'm really sorry about what happened out there between Zacky and I. I hadn't meant to get mad, it's just, I don't understand why he can't just support us."

"It's okay, Matt." She got up and went over to him. She leant down and gave him a quick peck on the lips, then skipped over to the door. "I'm gonna go see how Jake's doing."


End file.
